Beyond the pale:
"The reality is the cap-and-trade legislation offered by the Democrats amounts to an economic declaration of war on the Midwest by liberals on Capitol Hill," Chairman of the House Republican Conference Mike Pence (R-Ind.) told CNSNews.com.
If you watch cable news shows you have seen Pence. He is a special breed: a Bible-pounding hairbot demagogue. One of the architects of both the DHS and the PATRIOT Act. On second thought, maybe not such a special breed as he is standard Republican leadership material.
I sent him this in an email:
Dear Representative Pence:
This morning you issued a comment to the media equating proposed Cap and Trade legislation to a "declaration of war on the Midwest."
This statement is beneath contempt.
How dare you so cavalierly invoke notions of civil war at a time when our country's mettle is being so strenuously tested on so many different fronts? Is this how we should expect Republicans to practice constituent politics while in your ensconced minority? By throwing careless, divisive hyperbole like slabs of red meat to the extremists and secessionists who now sadly comprise the entirety of your "base?"
I would ask you for a retraction and an apology, but I'm not that naive. You won't retract your statement and you won't apologize, because your statement was as deliberate as it was reprehensible.
However, I will encourage you to ask yourself whether you are a legislator or a saboteur. If you are a legislator, then do your constituents the service of setting aside the saboteur's rhetoric, and make a sober case for why you believe they are being asked to bear an unfair burden to clean up our air. Whether they agree or disagree, at least that will merit the majority's respect, and the nation's.
Enough.
Sincerely,
You can send Pence your own thoughts here.
UPDATE: Happily surprised to see this on the rec list after I thought it had fizzled...sweet! I'll amend my encouragement slightly and ASK you to send Pence your thoughts. LTEs also welcome if you have the inclination. Thanks to those of you who came by to add your thoughts; in particular you've gotta watch Hillary's smackdown, embedded in video in the comments. Have a great weekend.